


Set In Stone

by cerulcean



Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Rilaya, overused trope tbh but i'm proud of this shh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-13
Updated: 2017-01-13
Packaged: 2018-09-17 07:55:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9312455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cerulcean/pseuds/cerulcean
Summary: this is a story. a story about a girl in love. and this is how it went.





	1. Girl Meets Heartache

**Author's Note:**

> title inspired by "Set In Stone" by Guy Sebastian

_Maya_

You never thought it would end up like this. But here you are.

“Hey,” she says, turning to you with that smile of hers that could grow sunflowers in your heart. Or break it in two. The latter happened the first time you saw it directed at someone who wasn’t you. “Peaches.” And every time after that.

“Yes, Riles?” you answer, trying your hardest not to shatter because of something this minuscule. Because of something you couldn’t do anything about. Because of something so tiny as her liking someone else. Someone that wasn’t you.

You look up at her, and her smile had turned into furrowed brows and there was worry in her usually shining eyes.

“You seem a bit off,” she says warily, apparently detecting how fragile you feel right now. “Is something wrong?” God, why is she so goddamn caring. Such a considerate, caring idiot.

“Nothing’s wrong,” you force out of your tightly wound lungs, making sure nothing more comes out because if you’re not careful you might just spill a flood onto the bedroom floor.

“Peaches,” she says. With her soft, knowing voice. God. “You can tell me anything. Anything in the whole world. I’m not gonna leave you.” You weren’t so sure. She moves closer. You’re still not sure.

There’s a pause when she’s waiting for an answer that’s never gonna come because you don’t trust yourself enough to talk.

How can she not notice how much it breaks you? How much it breaks you, your every bone, every fucking piece of your soul to see her so much happier with another person. And tonight was just too much. It was just too much, it was just too much, it was just too much.

Everything flashes in moments behind your eyes. Them looking at each other, with enough adoration to make you nearly throw up (she gave him the look you thought was reserved for you). Them holding hands the entire night (he held the hand that you thought was reserved for you). Them. Kissing by the door while the two of you were getting ready to leave (the space you thought was reserved for you).

(the lips you dreamt about)

Of course, you also felt hurt that time in middle school on the subway. But you thought you wanted to be with Josh, who had just been talking to another girl. So you brushed it off as jealousy towards her. So you never quite recognised the burning well of water behind your eyes and in your whole body as being caused by the girl who had been in your life since the beginning and just kissed a guy you made her make the first move towards because you would do anything if it meant she was happy.

That first sentence was lie. Of course you knew it would end up like this. But you recognised it too late. Or you had a naïve hope that maybe, just maybe, it wouldn’t.

“Say something,” she whispered thickly. And you weren’t facing her, but you knew there were tears forming in her eyes. And she put her hand on your thigh, and it burned and it burned and it burned but you didn’t move. Not an inch.

For a split second you were glad she was hurting. But that vanished in an instant, because you could never truly want her to feel sad. Especially if it was your fault. Which made this ten times worse.

You take a deep breath. Nothing comes out. You take another. You feel a sob escaping, and you curse yourself. You curse yourself for being so damn weak for her. You curse yourself for feeling this damn much for her. And you curse yourself for never doing anything about it before it was too late.

She wraps you in an immediate hug, and it burns, but not as much, and you never wanna let go, but you know you have to eventually and that makes you hold on even tighter.

You don’t let go of her that whole night. She doesn’t pressure you to talk (for once). You go to bed with an ache slightly smaller but you think it just hurts differently now.

You fall asleep to the beat of her heart and the sound of her breathing and to thoughts of her leaving if you crack and you hold on as tightly as you can. Until the morning.


	2. Girl Meets Identity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the continuation

The morning after went smoothly, if you ignore the ache in Maya’s chest and the slight awkwardness between the pair brushing their teeth next to each other.

They go to school, no words exhanged the whole way, and too many words exchanged between Maya and herself. Thinking Riley wasn’t in just as deep thought as she was. Thinking Riley was thinking of Lucas, and not her best friend who she knew was hurting but had no idea why.

At school their friends were already at their seats. Farkle, Smackle, Zay. And Lucas.

“Hey!” Lucas waved, with the biggest smile on his face, and it was directed towards noone else but Riley. Who, to everyone’s surprise, only gave him a quick half-smile. Her attention was on something else. Someone else. Maya had just stormed towards her seat and slammed her backpack onto the floor with such force that her table wobbled dangerously. Riley stared at her, so worried she felt her stomach would turn inside-out.

Riley sat down. The atmosphere was tense (or maybe it was just her).

Lucas sat there looking dumbfounded, not knowing what he did wrong. He looked to Farkle, who looked at him sympathetically and shrugged his shoulders in an “I’ve no idea what’s going on either” way. Smackle shrugged her shoulders too. Zay looked just as concerned as Riley, and shook his head with a compassionate half-smile. Not being the only one who felt lost was more comforting than Lucas thought it’d be.

Mr. Matthews walked in. “Identity,” he started, almost solemnly, writing the word on the blackboard, “Now, we’ve already covered the existential question of ‘Who am I’.” He looked over the class. Everyone nodded, remembering the last few lessons. “Today, we’re going to cover ‘Sexualities’.” He turned around to write this. A few murmurs started going around the classroom. But it was nothing compared to Maya’s reaction.

She had started shaking in her seat, her fingers tightening around the edges of her table, turning sickly white. Her head was bowed, and it sounded like her breathing was ragged.

Riley turned around. “Maya?” she half-whispered, and her best friend was looking worse than this morning and last night combined and Riley was terrified.

Mr. Matthews had had his back turned whilst writing on the blackboard, and asked, “Can anyone tell me the most commonly known sexualities?” not noticing Maya’s reaction to his former statement.

Farkle decided maybe it was best to act like things were normal so as to not freak Maya out any further, even though he didn’t know what had freaked her. So he answered as usual.

“There are a lot, but the most commonly known are heterosexuality, bisexuality and homosexuality.”

And Maya burst out of her chair and out of the classroom and down the hall and out of the school and sat on the steps and she cried and she cried and she cried and she cried until she was screaming and she cried until it felt like her soul was spilling onto the cold, hard brick and until her sobs became quick breaths of desperation.

Cory Matthews never really understood kids. But he could understand when something was wrong. He could understand when they needed to breathe. So he didn’t stop Maya running out. He could understand when they needed someone to hold. And so he didn’t stop Riley running after her.

Riley stopped, catching her breath, at the top of the steps leading up to the school’s main entrance where she saw Maya sitting with a crooked back and where she could hear Maya’s broken sobs breaking the otherwise serene silence of cars driving by in the distance and birds tweeting in the trees.

“Maya!” she shouted. She felt she might break her if she went any closer. Felt she might screw this up even further, and she wasn’t willing to risk that.

Maya didn’t turn around. She just shouted back, “What!” in a half-sob mixed with anger, and Riley felt that no matter how close she was someone was gonna break, and right now it might be herself.

Riley took a deep breath. “You have to tell me what’s going on!” she continued to shout, slowly starting to go down the steps. She couldn’t keep shouting at her. Not Maya.

“No!” Maya shouted back. She was shaking now. She wished everything would stop, that she didn’t have to feel any of this, she wanted everything to be alright. “I can’t risk it,” she shouted, with less force, and she wasn’t even sure Riley had heard her. Wasn’t sure she wanted her to.

“Maya, you can’t keep holding it in,” Riley said. She was closer now. She hadn’t heard Maya’s last sentence, apparently. “And you know you can always risk it with me.” Scratch that. “I won’t leave you. I won’t give up on you. I won’t. I never, ever would. I’ve stuck with you for all these years, and you’ve stuck with me, and we’ve been through so goddamn much together, so why, why do you think I would do anything but support you now?” Riley’s now standing next to Maya, who’s still shaking, and she sits down next her.

Maya’s silent. She doesn’t know what to say. Riley’s silent. She’s said all that she wants to say.

Almost.

“Maya, answer me,” Riley finished in a whisper. And that was all it took.


	3. Girl Meets Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the end.

_Riley_

She didn’t answer you. At least not with words. No, she didn’t answer you with words. She answered you with a kiss.

You’ve only ever kissed Lucas before. The first time was on the subway, on your first real date. The second was on a picnic he had planned for you. The third was last night. You thought it felt right to kiss him. You thought it was good, because it made you feel excited. You thought “This is how a kiss is supposed to feel like”. Quick and exciting. But you had no idea it could feel like this.

Like home. That was what it felt like in two words. In more than two words: Like finding a lost puzzlepiece and putting it right where it belongs. Like you’d been waiting for this your whole life. Like your heart had been empty and was finally being filled. And other similes that you could probably write a book about, but could be summed up with those two words: Like home.

Your world felt like it was turned upside down, at the same time as it felt like nothing had changed. And the words crashed into you. You’re in love with her. You’re in love with your best friend. You’re in love with Maya Hart. The secret goofball who loves art more than herself. Who is so much smarter than she believes. Who could take on the whole world if she wanted to. Who you wouldn’t hesitate to spend the rest of your life with.

You had never thought about marriage with Lucas. You thought you just didn’t like the idea of getting married. But that just wasn’t true. You’ve adored the idea of it since you were 7. The same age you were when Maya came in through your window.

She didn’t spare a glance at you when it was over. Her eyes were closed, shut tight, almost afraid, and she ran until you couldn’t see her. And you think maybe she didn’t want you to.

-

A few days go by, and you’ve thought. A few days have gone by, and you decide to break up with Lucas.

“Why?” he asks, with a confused and sad laugh that you didn’t want to cause but you did.

You explain how he makes you happy (he does). You explain how he hasn’t done anything wrong (he hasn’t). You explain how what you feel being with him is not what you want to feel in a relationship. There was something missing.

You take a deep breath.

And you explain that you found it in Maya (you don’t know how you could’ve missed it, when it seems like you’ve been feeling this for years).

He cries, and you cry, and you hug, and you know that you’re both gonna be okay eventually.

-

You find Maya at school, in the place where everyone left you but her, and you ask her to meet you at the bay window later.

-

You’re there. She looks at you expectantly, almost sadly. And then you break.

You tell her how you feel, how you think you’ve been feeling this for years. You tell her that she feels like home, and how you've never felt surer of anything (anyone) in your entire life.

“Riles,” she starts, with a tiny smile, tears slowly falling down her face. 

Then the smile vanishes. You frown a bit. And she asks, “What about Lucas?” with a voice as fragile as a withering rose petal. 

"Oh," you laugh, feeling teary-eyed yourself. “We broke up,” you answer, tears starting to fall down your own face, and you smile back at the sun.

Maya breaks into a grin. Then she asks, “Are you okay?” a bit unsure of herself and the world, her grin wavering.

“More than okay,” you answer. You tell her you’re in love with her. And, because you can’t help yourself,

“I love you.”

And even though you’ve said this to each other a billion times before, this time it means something entirely different.

Maya looks as happy as you feel, and she whispers, “I love you too,” and you hug, and you kiss her again,

and everything is okay.


End file.
